different between celibate vs unwed

English

Alternative forms

• cælibate (archaic)

Etymology

From French célibat, from Latin caelibatus, perfect passive participle of caelibare, from caelebs (“unmarried”), compare German Zölibat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?s?l?b?t/

Adjective

celibate (not comparable)

1. Not married.
2. (by extension) Abstaining from sexual relations and pleasures.

   Members of religious communities sometimes take vows to remain celibate.

Synonyms

• (not married): unmarried, single
• (abstaining from sex): abstinent, chaste, pure

Hyponyms

• incel
• volcel

Derived terms

• celibately

Translations

Noun

celibate (plural celibates)

1. One who is not married, especially one who has taken a religious vow not to get married, usually because of being a member of a religious community.
2. (obsolete) A celibate state; celibacy.

   • He […] preferreth holy celibate before the estate of marriage.

Synonyms

• volcel
• cel

Translations

Verb

celibate (third-person singular simple present celibates, present participle celibating, simple past and past participle celibated)

1. (rare) To practice celibacy

Related terms

• celibacy

See also

• bachelor
• friar (brother)
• monk
• nun (sister)

Anagrams

• cable tie, cabletie, citeable

English

Etymology

From un- +? wed.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?d

Adjective

unwed (not comparable)

1. Not married.

Translations

Noun

unwed (plural unweds)

1. One who is not married; a bachelor or a spinster.
   • 1944, Emily Carr, The House of All Sorts, “Unmarried,”^[1]

     Perhaps the most awkward situation for the inexperienced young landlady was how to deal with “unweds.”

   Should unweds living together receive the same social benefits as married couples?

Translations

Verb

unwed (third-person singular simple present unweds, present participle unwedding, simple past and past participle unwed or unwedded)

1. (transitive) To annul the marriage of.
   • 1918, All the World (volume 39, page 304)

     At last it was determined to unwed the unhappy pair, during the arrangements for which the husband was arrested and put into jail for six months for rioting.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To separate.
   • 2008, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Studies in Literature: Third Series (page 206)

     A singer must be a fool indeed if you do not hear through Sullivan's notes the exact language of any song. Take, for example, the well-known Sentry song in Iolanthe and attempt to unwed the wit of the air from the wit of the thought and words; […]